ATLANTA — Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr was one of 26 attorneys general to sign a letter calling on adult content website Pornhub to close what they call a loophole which they say allows child pornography to be snuck onto the site.
The loophole identified by the attorneys general is found in the site’s moderation practices.
As explained by the letter, written by South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, content creators who use Pornhub are required to submit photo identification to verify their age, but a loophole in the moderation system does not require faces to be shown on video.
With this possible loophole in mind, the AGs said it potentially allows content creators to publish child sexual abuse material on the platform, allowing potentially “countless children to be victimized.”
The letter from the more than two dozen AGs cites a recent video where a technical product manager for Pornhub’s parent company MindGeek, recently rebranded as Aylo, tells an undercover journalist that the moderation practices contain the aforementioned loophole.
The photo ID for content creators is only required when they create their accounts to upload content, but due to the lack of requirement to show faces, there’s no way to confirm the content actually features the performer or content creator who uploads the videos or other materials online.
When asked by the undercover journalist, the technical product manager said that “of course” abusers are using this loophole to upload content featuring their victims.
Among points made in the letter, the various attorneys general state that Aylo and Pornhub “are no strangers to controversy,” mentioning recent lawsuits against the company for allegedly profiting off of child pornography and non-consensual sex videos.
Additionally, the AGs mention how Visa an Mastercard had cut off payment processing for the company’s advertising division in 2022, while YouTube and Instagram have both suspended Pornhub’s accounts on their platforms due to alleged violations of platform policies.
The letter also takes issue with the potential prevalence of AI-generated child sexual abuse materials on the site. The letter asks what the site, and parent company Aylo, are doing to prevent digital exploitation and CSAM from appearing on their platform.
The AGs asked Pornhub to respond to their letter within 30 days, giving them a Nov. 10 deadline for a potential response.
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